Theodore Puck

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Theodore Puck
Born(1916-09-24)September 24, 1916
DiedNovember 6, 2005(2005-11-06) (aged 89)
NationalityAmerican
Citizenship United States
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
Known forGenetics, cell cloning, human karyotype
AwardsAlbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1958)
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1973)
E.B. Wilson Medal (1984)
Scientific career
FieldsGenetics
Doctoral advisorJames Franck

Theodore Thomas Puck (September 24, 1916 – November 6, 2005) was an American geneticist born in

Oswald H. Robertson on the study of how bacteria and viruses can spread through the air and on dust particles. After a postdoc position in the laboratory of Renato Dulbecco, Puck was recruited in 1948 to establish and chair the University of Colorado Medical School's department of biophysics. He retired from the University of Colorado Medical School in 1995 as professor emeritus, but continued to do laboratory work there until a few weeks before his death.[1]

Puck was an early pioneer of "somatic cell genetics" and single-cell plating ( i.e. "cloning" .) This work allowed the genetics of human and other mammalian cells to be studied in detail. Puck's key work ultimately made modern genetics, such as the human genome and other mammalian genome projects, possible. Dr. Puck with the assistance of Philip I. Marcus, successfully cloned a HeLa cell in 1955.

Puck made many basic discoveries in several areas. Confirming research done in 1956 by Joe Hin Tjio, Puck's team found that humans had 46 chromosomes rather than 48 which had earlier been believed.[2] He developed the CHO cell line from Chinese hamster ovarian cells for this work and contributed to deeper insights into chromosomes and genetics of mammalian cells. Derived CHO cell lines became the most productive manufacturing approach for therapeutic proteins, resulting in hundreds of highly efficient drugs.[3] Puck studied X-rays and cellular mutations.[4] He also isolated and studied cellular mutations.

Puck has won a number of honors for his work most notably the

radiotherapy
dosages for the treatment of cancer.

He died following complications from a broken hip. Upon his death he was survived by his widow, three daughters, and seven grandchildren.[1]

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 54375562
    .
  2. PMID 13563760
    .
  3. ^ Wurm, F.M. (2004) Production of recombinant protein therapeutics in cultivated mammalian cells Nature Biotechnology 22, 11, 1393-1398
  4. PMID 13319584
    .

External links

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